Diet is importance in determining general health, work performance, energy level and appearance. A diet must include proper amounts of essential nutrients. Essential nutrients are those that an animal is incapable of synthesizing and therefore, must be obtained from the diet of the animal. Essential nutrients are different for different animals. Of the approximately forty essential nutrients necessary for humans, fourteen are minerals, fourteen are vitamins, ten are amino acids and two are essential fatty acids. Other nonessential, but beneficial, factors include enzymes, beneficial bowel bacteria and certain kinds of fiber. These factors can become essential when the diet contains highly processed foods.
Extensively processed foods cannot provide all the nutritional requirements for optimum animal or human health because processing destroys chemically fragile essential nutritional elements. For example, processing steps may expose the carbon-carbon double bonds in hydrocarbon chains of essential fatty acids to oxidizing agents such as light and oxygen. Oxidized fatty acids lose their nutritional value. Humans and animals suffer from a nutritional deficiency as a result of consumption of a diet which is largely composed of processed foods. Despite the deficiencies of processed foods they have become popular due to the ease, speed and convenience with which meals can be prepared.
There is a need for a food supplement containing the missing essential nutrients to supplement the diet of processed-food consumers.